Chinese lockdown rule-breakers are publicly shamed and paraded through the streets carrying placards with their names on in bid to ensure Covid rules are obeyed
Armed riot police in southern China
have paraded four alleged violators of Covid rules through the streets,
leading to criticism of the government's heavy handed approach.
Four
masked suspects in hazmat suits - carrying placards displaying their
photos and names - were paraded Tuesday in front of a large crowd in
Guangxi region's Jingxi city.
Photos of
the event showed each suspect held by two police officers - wearing
face shields, masks and hazmat suits - and surrounded by a circle of
police in riot gear, some holding guns.
The public shaming was part of
disciplinary measures announced by the local government in August to
punish those breaking health rules.
China
banned such public shaming of criminal suspects in 2010 after decades
of campaigning by human rights activists, but the practice has
resurfaced as local governments struggle to enforce the national
zero-Covid policy.
It comes as locked-down residents in one of China's
biggest cities say they are at risk of starving in their homes after
they were banned from going outside even to buy food under harsh new
Covid measures sparked by just a few dozen cases.
Apparatchiks
running the city of Xi'an on Monday told 13 million people they are
only allowed out of their homes when invited to take part in a new round
of mass testing, or for medical emergencies.
The four individuals paraded through the
streets of Jingxi city were also accused of transporting illegal
migrants while China's borders remain largely closed due to the
pandemic, Guangxi News said.
Jingxi is near the Chinese border with Vietnam.
The newspaper said the parade provided a 'real-life warning' to the public, and 'deterred border-related crimes'.
But it also led to a backlash, with official outlets and social media users criticising the heavy handed approach.
